Count with Little Fish by Lucy Cousins

Walker Books, 2018. ISBN 9781406374193
(Ages: 0-3) Themes: Counting, Fish, Board Book, Rhyming. This is a Little Fish Book, featuring the same titular fish from Where is Little Fish and Hooray for Fish. It counts from 1 to 10 using a variety of fish (fin-fin fish, funny fish, etc.) and is tactile and visually appealing. Shiny illustrations are smooth to the touch and everything is patterned with spots and stripes of varying vibrant design. Both the colours and the tone of the book are bold and cheerful. Playful illustrations encourage discussion about shape, size, colour, pattern, and fish body parts (big, small, long, short, spotty, stripy, sharp teeth, long fins etc) and the last page encourages further discussion ("How many new fish have you found?). This final page also shows all the fish from the book so helps children with recall and reflection. Large numerals, which have the written word underneath, assist with number recognition. The numerals are eye-catching because they are patterned the same as the fish on that page. Visual appeal and a nice rhythm ("One little fish swimming in the sea, Two twin fin-fin fish, as pretty as can be") makes this a simple but effective first counting book.
Nicole Nelson